There are a wide variety of devices designed for separating gas or air from a liquid or other medium more viscous or dense than the air. Such deaerating devices are used in countless applications from liquid or fuel pumps to water or oil well applications.
One area of concern is in components of modern aircraft accessories, such as hydraulic units, which are adversely affected in function and longevity by air entrained in the oil supply. For instance, the oil may be used as a coolant in integrated drive generators or other components which can be damaged or rendered less efficient by air entrained in the more viscous coolant.
Such problems commonly are addressed by the use of a deaerator to reduce the air content of the applicable fluid. Deaerators may have static or dynamic designs. Static deaerators, when sized to perform their prescribed function, occupy considerable space and add considerable weight which in many applications, such as aircraft applications, is undesirable. Dynamic deaerators most often include rotating impellers for effecting radial acceleration of the aerated liquid which causes separation of the more dense liquid from the air under the influence of centrifugal force. Dynamic or rotating deaerators weigh less and occupy less space than static deaerators, but the incorporation of rotating impellers, associated bearings and other related elements, add cost and complexity to the deaerator design and still add undesirable weight, particularly for aircraft applications. Rotating deaerators, necessarily incorporating movable components, present reliability and maintenance problems. Furthermore, rotating impeller-type deaerators impose constraints on the design envelope and the shaft speed of the design.
This invention is directed to providing a novel deaerator design which solves most if not all of the above problems. The deaerator of this invention is cost effective, extremely simple, reliable and presents no constraint on shaft speed of the particular apparatus. In fact, the deaerator does not even include movable components.